Okayu
by Bulldango
Summary: A look into the life of Sakura Haruno. Intellectual, mature story.
1. Chapter 1

**STOP AND READ THIS OR YOU WILL BE DISSAPPOINTED.**

Lately I've been reading through all of my favourite Sakura stories. These are stories I've been favouriting since I was about 14-15. But the thing is, they all have one thing in common.

Sakura acts like a bi-polar emo bitch. If she's not Freaking out in under a second and trying to punch someone in the face, she hates all of the guys that are after her romantically.

In short, it's all very juvenile, no matter what age she is at. It's also all very unrealistic.

I seek to change this.

In this story, Sakura is about 20. She has grown, changed and matured over her life. She also a hell of a lot more laid-back, a personality change I see in a lot of the older shinobi in the series. Look at Kakashi, Asuma, Genma, Kurenai and the list goes on. They are all so relaxed; you never see any of them packing a bitch-fit.

The life a shinobi lives is hard, they fight and kill people for a living, constantly living with the fact that they could die at any minute hanging over their heads. Not only would they mature really quickly, but they'd also learn the lesson that life is too short to worry over the trivial things I see a lot of characters in Fanfiction worrying over. So yes, Sakura is different, she's not in character because in the canon universe she's 15 or something. You are not the same person at 20 as you were when you were 15.

If you're looking for a kawaii gushy-gushy romance, I'd suggest looking elsewhere. This is a mature, intellectual story for the more grown-up readers of fanfiction.

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><p><em>-..-..-..-..-<em>

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><p><em><strong>Okayu:<strong>_ is the name for the type of congee eaten in Japan. Congee is a type of rice porridge popular in many Asian countries. To prepare the dish, rice is boiled in large amounts of water until it softens significantly. In some cultures, congee is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper; in others it is eaten as a substitute for rice at other meals. It is often considered particularly suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food.

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><p><em>-..-..-..-..<em>**_-_  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Okayu.<strong>

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It was with an exhausted haunch to her shoulders that Sakura walked down the never-ending hospital hallway. With a deep sigh and a yawn she jammed the heel of her palm into her eye, giving it a rough rub as she tried to stimulate herself into a more aware frame of mind, though it truly did nothing except cause blinding spots to pop up in her vision. With a crass yawn her hand sought the door beside her, pushing it open as she slipped out of the brazenly lit hallway and into a much darker, naturally lit locker room. Her sigh this time tempered with an edge of sleepy pleasure as her pupils dilated in the softy illuminated room.

It had been a long day, just like any other day. Her once white scrubs that identified her as a medical trained shinobi had been marred with blood, the blood of her injured patients. She came to a stop at her locker, her tired fingers groping at the handle as she popped it open. Her other hand tugged her at her stained scrub, yanking it up and over her head before tossing it off and over to the side. Without even a glance the red tarnished material flew through the air before it rumpled into a ball at the bottom of the clothing trolley. Sakura gave a soft 'heh,' the corner of her mouth tugging up at her accomplishment.

_'Still got it.'_ She thought, a cocky gun-shooting hand action supplied along with it. She gave a short tug at her equally stained pants, tugging them down to mid-thigh before a shimmy of her hips and an awkward leg dance took care of the rest of the disrobing, her hands and eyes focused on the innards of her locker. As she withdrew a small plastic pottle her body turned, her foot coming up to close the locker door before swooping down in the same movement to hook her toes in the hem of her pants and fling them into the clothing trolley to join her shirt.

Her panty clad arse met the surface of the wood bench with no sense of bravado like her earlier shooting with the shirt had produced, her mind focused solely on the pottle and spoon in hand instead. With a snap she plucked the plastic lid off to reveal her much awaited dinner, a chilled, gooey mess of okayu. She gave the viscous food a swirl, a few beans popping up within the swirl of coagulated rice porridge. She scooped up the chilled okayu, jamming it into her mouth as her eyes closed, her mouth brazenly left open in the quiet solitude of the locker room as she let all social conformities go, as one does when by themselves.

_'How am I the only one to like cold, old okayu?'_ Her sloppy chewing was the background noise for her internal monologue over her small meal, years spent nursing the elderly and the young on the rice dish had given her a taste for the gruel. Her affection for it was like the one Naruto had for Ramen. The blonde haired Hokage-to-be popped up in her thoughts just as she jammed another mouthful of okayu into her mouth, she couldn't help but feel her lips stretch into a smile around the captured, up-turned spoon.

Her legs kicked up, the tops of her thighs pressing to her white, strawberry speckled bra, her heels rasping along the surface of the wood bench as she shifted positions. Another chomp and a bean burst in her mouth.

"Sakura-chaaaan!" Came the happy chirp as a bushel of blonde popped around the corner of the very door she had slunk through previously, Naruto's trademark grin bunching his whiskered cheeks. 'Speak of the devil' Sakura thought, her shoulders dropping along with her eyelids as she cut Naruto a dry look.

"The nurse said you'd be back here!" He finished, entering into the room completely, the door closing behind him with a click. With long strides he quickly made his way over to her, even so late at night his blue eyes were bright like the afternoon sky.

"Naruto, what have I told you about being back here? This is for hospital staff only." She drawled, a hint of displeasure colouring her voice. Another spoonful of okayu found its way into her mouth, though her eyes never left her friend's ever approaching form.

"Eh? But, Sakuraaaa!" He whined, his arms coming to swing around the front of her neck loosely as he stood behind her, his forearms resting on her shoulders as his chin sat atop her head. The lack of a suffix attached to the end of her name along with the relaxed position they both held as his larger figure swamped hers was a telling sign of just how close the two were.

"I don't know how you like that stuff, it's so bland." He huffed, his lips slipping into an insolent pout as he looked down at her meal, yet he happily opened his mouth as she offered a spoon of the rice gruel up to him. He was Sakura's waste disposal unit, after all. She gave a giggle as he munched away happy.

They sat like that for several minutes, no communication, simply enjoying each other presences like they had learnt to do over many years. With age had came the understanding that in their line of work, friendship did not always last forever. One day someone could be there and the next they may not. They had learnt through their teachers and their friends that simply enjoying the closeness of another shinobi was enough, words were unneeded most of the time. Some of Sakura's most cherished memories had come from quick moments huddled up under a branch in the middle of the night when it was pouring with rain. No words, just looks.

Unlike civilians, shinobi needed no words to express themselves. It was how they were trained. Blown covers cost lives.

It was with a jaw shattering yawn that their amicable silence was destroyed as Naruto couldn't help but burst with a bellowing laugh as he watched his pretty little Sakura's face contort with exhaustion. He was rewarded with a sleepy nudge of his ribs with her elbow, a true testament to how sleepy she really was. Normally he wouldn't have gotten away with anything short of a bruise.

"Shut it, Naruto" She huffed, scraping the last remains of her okayu from her take-away container and shovelling it into her mouth.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan." He chuckled, giving a rouge scratch to the back of his neck in repentance.

"Come on you need to get changed and then I'll walk you home." His tone turned soft as he stumbled upon the idea that maybe his normally bright and loud persona would be giving her an awful headache. His hands slipped from their languid position floating above her collar bone to under her arms, slowly heaving her up with an exaggerated grunt that earned him a stone cold glare. Sakura complied to his movements, her bunched up legs unfolding as she opened her locker once more.

She jammed her used container away in her bag before she began to thumb through it in looks for a shirt, her free hand sliding down to her arse to tug her peach coloured hipster out of her crack, giving the elastic a subtle snap. Modesty was not a luxury shinobi could afford, a lesson Sakura had learnt courtesy of the Jounin exams three years ago. Though she was surprised she hadn't learnt it sooner. If an enemy could defeat you by ripping off your shirt, you'd be as good as dead. Once again, Sakura was surprised that she had the luck to not run across a slimy and vile villain that would have done a move such as that. She would have cried out in embarrassment and had her throat slit in the same moment if that had happened back when she was 15.

But like most shinobi, Sakura had learnt and had adapted to be comfortable with her body, for it was simply that, a body. It was a series of nerves, veins, muscles, tendons, bones, organs and electrical impulses that she used to kill people with. There was no shame. Naruto had seen her with less clothing on before when situations in missions had called for it and he had not blinked an eye. It was a testament to how he had matured in the years, much like her.

She couldn't help but give an amused snort as she pulled a navy shirt over her head, her ponytail catching for a short moment as she wrestled with the head hold, Naruto eventually coming to her rescue with his cheeky chuckle; like always. She threw him an amused look over her shoulder as her head finally made it through.

"You're so hopeless when you're sleepy, Sakura-chan." He intoned jokingly once more, attempting to keep his voice down. He stepped over the bench that separated them as he took over finding her a pair of shorts, his ANBU gear pulling taut as he shifted silently.

Her green eyes turned soft as she viewed his gear, smudges of grass and dirt letting her know he had obvious just finished sparring. She knew he had no missions, a perk of being the apprentice of the Hokage. Him obtaining his ANBU status was a bump in the road of their shared lives. It had been a necessary step he had to take if he was to one day become Hokage. A Hokage had to go through every position within the Konoha shinobi ranks to be able to qualify for the esteemed position. It had been a step Naruto had been reluctant to take, not because he would have been given far more difficult mission, but because Sakura would no longer have been his teammate.

Once Sakura had reached jounin status, and then subsequently special jounin status, she had been quite happy to stop ascending through the ranks. She had no need or drive to become ANBU, though she knew she would have qualified to be moved into the elite ranks if she so wished.

_'I remember the times when it was my goal. To become ANBU, to be the best of the best, to show Sasuke that I wasn't weak anymore.'_ She thought emotionlessly, no real feelings being produced from her line of thought. _'But I grew up. I matured. I don't need status; I don't need to prove myself to anyone. I needed to be happy with myself, and I finally am.'_ A smile caught her lips as she finished her thoughts, Naruto turning around to shoot her another blinding smile as he held up a pair of black, cotton shorts.

He knelt down at her feet, his ANBU gear bunching as he held the hem open for her to slip her feet through. Leaning forwards she grasped onto his shoulder, steadying herself as she slipped one foot at a time into her short, letting Naruto pull them up to her hips. His face popped up into hers with a chuckle and an infectious smile, Sakura easily responded the same, even though her mind was shattered with exhaustion.

_'As is Naruto.'_ He hadn't been, at first. The idea of leaving Sakura behind was simply a step he did not think himself ready to take. He had clung to her all through his teenage years, least she go the way of Sasuke. He had thought the only ties they had keeping them together was that of teammates, he had planned his life with her in mind, she was always there at his side. They made jounin together and they would make ANBU together and when he became Hokage she would be his advisor. He had planned it all, they would always be tied together by being in the same team.

It had taken days upon weeks to get him to be comfortable enough with the idea of them not being teammates anymore. Sakura could remember how much her jaw would ache from the length at which she talked to him, to reassure him of the fact that she would always be there, she would always be at his side. They were true friend, bound by the soul, not by their team.

And even after all of it, even after he had sat the exam and passed with flying colours it had not ended. He acted as if it was fine, as if he was ready and willing to take this next step, but for him it only seemed that the next step was off of a cliff.

It had compounded the night he had been given his new team.

He had crashed through her plane glass window, his chakra broiling across his skin as he heaved and convulsed on her bedroom floor, emptying the contents of his stomach onto her carpet. It had been a panic attack the likes Sakura had never seen before. She had spent the entire night holding his sobbing form like she was nursing a sick lamb. He had cried like a little lost boy, and it was then Sakura could truly see the extent of every hardship he had faced in his life, the damage it had done to his overwhelming soul. He had hidden it all so well.

It had taken a three long months of recovery, Tsunade suspending mission after mission, keeping his emotional vulnerability under wraps, least he be removed from active service. It had takenSakura, Kakashi and the help of war worn Ibiki and Anko, both trained in Shinobi Mental Health, to fight through his problems.

It had been a full year until he was truly happy again.

He had finally proven himself as a shinobi, he was able to overcome all of his past trials and adversaries to move on with his life. And it was then, with opened and reborn eyes he could view Sakura and his relationship with her in a light he had never seen before. There was need to have her in his life before, no driving instinct that if she was not their everything would turn to ruin, no, he wanted her there. And that was so much more.

"Found 'em!" He cheered, forgetting his silent promise to himself to keep quiet as he waved the geta in the air. Sakura gave a short start as she was rocked out of her thoughts, her mind wandering off into the abyssal depths of her mind as exhaustion consumed her consciousness. Naruto quickly slipped the geta onto her feet before yanking the bag out of her locker and swinging it up over his shoulder, his smile stretching wider as he looped his arm around Sakura's shoulders, tugging her in under his arm.

"Let's get you home, Sakura! And then you can make me some ramen!" He finished with a rude waggle of his brows, causing Sakura to reach up and shove at his face with a playful scowl. He simply laughed, opening the door to the locker room as the light flooded in, consuming them whole as they walked out.

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><p><em>-..-..-..-..-<em>

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><p>Okayu fixation is one I will always make Sakura have when I write about her from now on.<p>

This story may continue on. I have some more thoughts that I had originally planned to slide into this chapter that simply didn't fit, like a talk between Tsunade and Sakura.

I hate how short this is, it's one of my shortest stories.

_**Read and Review**_

_** feedback is welcomed and encouraging to me as a writer.**_

_**What takes you ten seconds to types last me for a life time.  
><strong>_

There is no need to comment on grammar, I know it's terrible.


	2. Chapter 2

"What time is it?" It was a redundant question, Sakura knew the time the second she sat bolt upright in her bed, her head cast towards her bare window to gauge the sun. Curtains were unnecessary for a shinobi, if one needed to leave a room quickly and the window was the only way out, the excess material would simply make it harder. Falling out a three story window wasn't fun when you had a hideous floral patterned curtain binding your legs together.

"Six." Was the immediate response from Naruto, his head snapping up from where it was lulling back against the edge of her bed, the rest of his spine pushed up against the side. Having only gotten home four hours earlier, Sakura could have easily done with a few more hours of sleep, especially since she was suffering from such severe exhaustion the night before. But she had training to do.

No matter what the circumstances, no matter the weather or any personal problems going on in her life at that moment, training would always start at dawn. Her body had to stay in peak condition, like a fine racing horse it had to be stretched and exercised daily or it will fall into disuse. That was a death sentence for a shinobi.

Her legs were quickly swung out of bed, throwing herself up and out of the luxuriant down bedding and wasting no time as she fell into a standard push-up position. She paid no attention to Naruto who remained laid-back against the side of her bed, yawning and stretching as he saw fit.

"What are we doing today, Sakura?" He asked in a sleepy manner, rubbing at his eyes in a way that made the corners of Sakura's lips quirk up. Even at 6'2 and cast in a well built body, Naruto could still pull off adorable.

"Training, then Kakashi-sensei will show up. We could always get some Ramen after that?" She asked, turning her head to the side as she flopped onto her belly, her reps done. The way she had described her day off was the way her days off generally went. They followed a docile pattern, one that was a harsh change from the uncertainty of missions.

"Mmm, I want beef today." He sighed happily, having risen from his place beside Sakura to move over to her closet, leafing through her exceedingly well-kept clothing to find his own.

"You know damn well where your clothing is, Naruto. Stop looking at my panties." She huffed rolling around until she was sitting on her arse, her legs splayed out as she began a series of floor stretches.

"But they're so cute Sakura-Chan!" He chirped, waving a pair of cherry dotted briefs over his shoulder. 'He may have grown up, but he's still Naruto' She giggled to herself, familiar with the game Naruto was playing. She knew he was not really going through her panties, instead he was looking for anything out of place. The closet was a favourite hiding spot for most Shinobi, the vast amount of clothing that held secret pockets and the like was overwhelming. So it also happened to be the first place enemy shinobi would look when seeking classified information.

Naruto's habit of nosing through all of her clothing was simply his way of showing he cared in a non-boisterous sort of way, checking to see everything was in its rightful place.

'Nearly everything he does shows he cares.' Sakura thought, her soft eyes looking upon the blonde. Many thought Naruto to be as easy to read as a blank piece of paper, he was forward and loud. If he wanted to say something, he said it. People took Naruto at face-value; they never sought to look deeper.

And it was there that they missed the most subtle of signs. Naruto was far deeper, far more complex than others gave him credit for. But Sakura saw all of it and knew all of it.

"Oi, Sakura-chan. Where's my orange shirt?" Naruto asked from halfway-into her closet. Her once tidy stacks of neatly folded clothing a complete mess once Naruto had his way with it. She did nothing but give an amused huff, rolling onto her feet and making her way over to the cupboard.

"It's in the wash, wear this." She hummed, pressing a hand to his lower back to steady herself as she reached up to the top shelf. Her hand pressed to the warmth of his flesh as his bent over angle slid the ANBU vest and the underlying shirt up his body, exposing a slash of tanned skin.

"Ahhh! Cold hands, Sakura-chaaan!" He whined, fidgeting, his arse wagging back and forth. Sakura only giggled as she tugged the white muscle shirt down from its place before she playfully shoved the rest of her hand up under his shirt. Naruto bolted upright with a yelp, eyes wide as her hand slipped over his warm skin, snaking its way around his back to inflict as much cruel cold as it could.

"So mean to me Sakura-chan!" He huffed, pouting playfully as he turned to face her, Sakura's hand slipping out from under his shirt with the movement. It instead came to rest on his hip as he swooped her up into a hug, his well muscled arms wrapping around her waist before tugging her feet off the ground. Her head tipped back as she let loose with a boisterous, gut filled laugh, though she knew she could break out of his hold with a mere flex of her trapped arms.

Naruto's smile only grew as he watched her. As he toted her off down the hallway and down the stairs in search of the kitchen, Sakura's laughter slowly died, leaving her to giggle girlishly.

Naruto elegantly manoeuvred them through the doorframe into the kitchen, setting Sakura down on the small, two person table as he shifted over to the brewing batch of Okayu steeping away in the rice cooker on the edge of the kitchen bench. Lifting the lid he plunged his face into the wafting cloud of steam, breathing heavily of the aroma he'd come to associate with Sakura over the past many years. He was quickly pushed away, however, as Sakura moved into to fill up her own bowl.

"Get out of it, Naruto." She chuckled, a smile stretching her tired features just enough for Naruto to see the ware and tare this hard life they had chosen had brought upon her. It was far more beautiful a sight than Naruto had ever seen. The bags under her eyes, the beg raddled, dull pink locks, the soft nick by the corner of her mouth all made his heart thump just a little harder than before. Sakura had given up her youthful, pretty appearance to serve her country to the fullest, and to Naruto, that made her a beautiful woman.

As she turned away his eyes grazed her partially exposed upper back, her skin bruised and scarred from long ago battles and recent fights; all done for the sake of their country. Every time he saw her he found a new level of respect for her bubble in his gut; he didn't think he's ever stop being amazed by her.

"Naruto, stop staring at me and sit down and eat your food." She mumbled halfway around a spoon already jammed in her mouth, not even waiting for Naruto to sit down before she began to eat; she knew he would have done the same.

The meal was quite and pleasant, filled with a warm air of familiarity as they felt no need to converse about goings-on in their life. Naruto mainly babbled on about needless information Sakura already knew, but she still nodded along and listened, not interrupting him once. Sakura had grown to be a great listener. There was a smile or laugh thrown here or there, and anyone walking by Sakura's kitchen window would have seen the animated flailing of their soon to be Hokage as he told his story and the light that only shone from Sakura when he was in her company.

"And then Koiju-san went flying into the air as Garu-san set off the trap! You should have seen the look on his face Sakura-chan!" Naruto laughed, nearly doubling over at the memory of a training exercise taking a turn for the hilarious. Sakura chuckled along with him as she washed out her own bowl, her chaffed lips pulled taut in an endearing smile. A second bowl joined her own as Naruto came to stand beside her, a warm, calloused hand resting on her bare shoulder as she easily cleaned out his bowl as well. A soft quiet fell between the two as they simply rested beside each other. Sakura's head dipped to the side, her cheek coming to rest on the top of Naruto's hand in a gentle show of companionship and ease. This was their home, beside each other.

The knock at the door and the events it would cause may destroy that, however.

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><p>v<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong>

So Naruto and Sakura's relationship has been exposed. It's kind of a grey area; deeper than a friendship but without the boundaries of a relationship. I know it might be a bit unsatisfying for some of you, but that's simply how the relationship has written itself. Naruto and Sakura are amicable with how their relationship is at the moment; perhaps it falls deeper than that. Maybe it will change, we'll see how the story progresses. Right now you all know as bout as much as me. xD

Next chapter will be more exciting, I assure you.

P.S

Sorry for the wait.

_**Please feel free to review.**_

_**What takes you ten seconds to type up, lasts me a life time.**_

_**It gives me motivation to write for you.**_

_**The only reason this chapter is here today is because I read over my past reviews.**_

_**They inspired me to finish this chapter which had been sitting around for months.  
><strong>_


	3. Chapter 3

"Coming." Called Sakura as her head perked up. Naruto was already on the move, silently pacing across her kitchen towards the sink and a collection of rather reflective pans. Sakura stood from her chair, making her way towards the hall to answer the door. Before she breeched the threshold she glanced back to see Naruto give a stern nod. He was bent over slightly, holding one of her pans by the kitchen window, gaining a rather nice view of whoever had dropped by so early unannounced.

"It's just Haru." He chimed, standing up straight, spinning the useful pan by the handle as he gave a dimpled grin. Sakura wasn't looking to see it, as she moved towards the door.

'Great, a messenger on my day off. I swear this better not be another patient problem, I left Ino on call for these kinds of issues.' Sakura was equal parts frustrated and concerned. It was rare she got messengers from the Hokage. Normally her mentor contacted her directly through scrolls or discussed issues over sake. Messengers meant official shinobi business. She swung open the door to see the smiling face of the brown eyed, brown haired young Haru.

"Good morning Haruno-San!" He chirped, as perky as ever.

"Morning, Haru-san. How can I-""What does Baa-chan want now?" Naruto interrupted, cutting straight to the point, earning a surprised look from Haru. Naruto slung an arm against the door jam, resting his weight on it as he towered over the shorter two.

"Ah, morning Naruto-san! Tsunade thought you'd be here as well, saves me the trouble of having to find you as well." Haru smiled even larger, the boy was nearly able to rival Naruto for sheer positivity.

'Probably why Tsunade keeps him out running messages. I doubt she can stand having Naruto around for most of the day, then having to deal with Haru too.' Sakura's eyebrows pinched together as she processed what Haru had said at a deeper level.

"Are you looking for both of us, Haru?" She asked, 'Something must be wrong. Naruto and I aren't stationed on the same teams anymore, we're not even on the same ranks. We haven't had an official meeting with Tsunade since Naruto's promotion.'

Throwing a look at Naruto, she could see him reel back slightly. His arm slipped from the door jam as he stood on his own two feet, his arms crossing in front of his chest. He was as concerned and as curious as she was. Haru now had the two nins complete attention.

"Yes, I am! Tsunade requires you both in her office immediately! And by immediately I mean now. I am here to escort you." He chirped, his smile fading to a more serene look.

"Please change into full uniform, as this will be a briefing. I'll wait here as you get ready." Haru threw curious glances at both Naruto and Sakura, as the two seemed to be mildly stunned. Having spent the last two years as a messenger for the Hokage, he was used to Shinobi jumping to action as soon as they spotted him, the fact that they were still standing here was unusual.

"Please wait here, Haru, We'll get ready now." They never had gotten dressed.

As the closed, Sakura turned to Naruto, slightly uncertain as to what they were to expect. It had been a long time since they had been put in this situation before. In times of uncertainty, it was Naruto Sakura had learnt to turn to. Looking into his eyes, all she found was the same uncertainty reflected back at her.

"We should be quick." Naruto spoke softly, making Sakura slightly on edge.

v

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v

The two were seated outside of the Hokage office, Sakura in her standard Jounin uniform, Naruto in his, sans mask.

"Why is Baa-chan taking so looooooong." Naruto whined, ruffling his own hair. His pent up nervousness was beginning to rub off on Sakura, and she wasn't enjoying it. She leafed through a magazine that had been left on the small table in front of her. It was a show, as Sakura's mind was far too busy racing at through possibilities of why they had been called. It was no secret that Sakura and Naruto were two of Tsunades most trusted shinobi's. To call them both in like this was a telling enough sign that this was serious. She would not have used official channels to reach out, if she had simply wanted to catch up.

"Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto squawked as their former sensei stepped through the Hokage's office doors.

Kakashi simply gave him a dry look, not at all impressed with his former students shrill voice blasting at his eardrums at this time in the morning. The Hokage's tower was dead quiet at this hour in the morning, and he was rather enjoying it.

"You two can come in now." He responded in his usual subdued voice. Naruto shot Sakura a quick glance that was met with a miniscule nod of affirmation. They both stood and moved towards the office doors that Kakashi now held wide open, having stood aside.

"I'm glad you're both here." Tsunade spoke, looking up at the two as she hunched over a mess of papers.

"I'm sure you're both concerned as to why you've been called here. I'm sorry if I worried you by sending Haru, but I needed you here as soon as possible. Overnight I received information that I knew would be important to you." Tsunade placed a scroll at the head of her desk, the broken, bright red seal of a Sunagakure at the forefront. No one made a move towards it, as all eyes remained focused on Tsunade. She simply sighed in response, this was obviously something she was struggling to explain to the shinobi who she had become so attached to.

"Years ago we decided, all of us, that Sasuke-" Naruto lunged towards the scroll, ripping it off the Hokage's desk and unravelling it in a swift motion, his eyes scanning the information "would not be followed. That we would not go out of our way to find him. We all agreed his had chosen his path, that we would leave it to him." She took a breath

"He's been spotted on the western outskirts of the Land of Wind." Naruto almost seemed breathless, Sakura was now leaning over his shoulder, her eyes skimming the familiar katakana.

"Yes." Said Kakashi.

"Suna has confidentially sent Konoha this information; no one else knows. It was personally delivered by Kankuro himself." Tsunade leant forward, pressing the tips of her fingers together as her elbows rested on the top of her desk, contemplative.

"Gaara is giving us a chance to capture him." Sakura was nearly in disbelief. Naruto had always been close to Gaara, but their bond was an unusual one Sakura had never observed in anyone else. Through their bond Sakura was able to become closer to Gaaa as well, though it had taken them a much longer time to be amicable. It ended in a strong friendship filled with quiet, intellectual discussion. Sakura had even spent a year in Suna, helping the hospital modernize its infrastructure under Gaara's request.

It seemed that friendship had paid off.

"Capture, or kill." Tsunade's voice broke the two close shinobi out of their stupor. "This is not a reconnaissance mission, this is a capture or kill. The Kazekage is uncomfortable with a S-rank missing-nin near his borders, which is understandable. Instead of dispatching his own shinobi to deal with this, he has extended Konoha the chance for redemption."

Tsunade sat up straight, her eyes hard and lips pressed to a firm line.

"He has made it very clear that Sasuke Uchiha is to be incapacitated, be that through apprehension or death. This mission is to be taken in full secrecy. If you two are unwilling or feel you will be unable to accept this mission because of emotional attachment to the target, I will accept that as a legitimate reason and give the mission to someone else."

"No." Came Naruto's voice, deep, with a flicker or dark emotion "We will accept the mission to detain or kill Sasuke Uchiha." He need not even look at Sakura to know her answer to Tsunade's question.

"Kakashi will not be assisting you. He will be stationed in Sunakagure as per Gaara's request for someone to oversee the preparations of a containment cell and transportation should you need it. He will also be there if you need reinforcements." She gave a sigh of relief, glad that they had accepted it. Leaning back in her chair now that the hard part was done, she could begin with the boring, usual stuff.

"There is no telling how long this mission could go for if a time limit is not set. I won't have two of my best out in the corn field chasing a snake. You have six months to carry this out. All of your expenses will be reimbursed upon return, so keep your receipts, you know the routine." Tsunade exhaled loudly as she went through her mental checklist.

"You will be leaving tomorrow at 0500 hours, you have two days to make it to Boto town. From there you'll need to purchase tickets via boat to Minato village." Tsunade spoke as she rose from her chair, heading towards the large map located on her wall. She tracked their planned path, first descending from Konoha to the coast, her finger tapping at the dot that represented Boto town. She then dragged it from there, south-westerly along the coast line, over the water and past the Land of Wind to the dot that marked Minato village.

"The voyage is expected to take three to seven days. There are two stops on the way, one at the Land of Waves and one at the Land of Rivers. Once you reached Minato village, you are to head north, further into the Land of Sun. Neither of you have been there before, and sadly I cannot give you much information on it or it's residence. Konohagakure has no relations with them, hostile or otherwise." Tsunade continued tracing their route with her finger.

"Sasuke was last sighted here, in the village of was a three days ago. From there you are on your own, you know what to do." She concluded, turning to the two shinobi.

"I don't need to tell you this is an S-rank mission. It is to be treated like such. No one outside of this room is to know about it, extreme discretion is advised. All other information you need to know is in that scroll and these two." Tsunade turned to Sakura, handing her two mission scrolls she had been fussing over when the two Shinobi's had arrived.

"The personal at the hospital will be told you are being sent to the Land of Wind to investigate rumours of a viral outbreak and are charged with treating it if you find it. Naruto, your team will be told you are on a solo mission. You are dismissed." Tsunade turned her back on the three as she dismissed them. Kakashi was already halfway out the door as Sakura and Naruto turned to follow, the two teammates still processing all the information they had just been told.

"The only-" Sakura and Naruto stopped "reason I am giving you this mission is because I know how much he means to the both of you." Tsunade turned side one to stare down the two shinobi; her face was hard, her eyebrows pinched together, a dark fire danced behind her hazel eyes.

"But remember that he is not worth your lives, or the life you two have built together. You are strong without him."

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**A/N** wow guys it's been awhile, huh? I'm looking forward to getting into this again. I apologize if my writing style has changed in the 3 (three?!) years I've let this story sit unfinished. To be honest, I have no idea what the original plot of this story was going to be, but I've come up with a good one. Don't worry though, it's certainly not Sasuke centric! I simply needed a way to get Sakura and Naruto together, alone and out of the city. Since I had them on two different levels, I needed something that would bring them together, and like usual, that's Sasuke.

This story will be following Naruto and Sakura through their travel. It should be very fun to explore their relationship with ever changing scenary!


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